Everytime a ship arrives at the pier anywhere in the Philippines, the Bajau people would approach the ship right away without thinking of the danger. They use wooden boats or banka to get as close to the ship as possible so they can easily beg from passengers who are always curious of their lifestyle. Most of the time, they are seen as family members together in this endeavor with fathers, mothers and, to our amazement, even little children. The people throw coins down to the sea where they have to swim quickly to catch them before losing them to the bottom. And remarkably enough, they easily get the coins. They rarely lose any of them. They are very skillful swimmers who are not afraid to dive deep just to grab the coins. Some passengers maybe aware of their act of begging as similar to those who are in the city streets begging from passers-by, but they don't seem to care at all. Maybe because they are entertained by the sight of them diving for the coins and in just a second, they get them all! Getting the coins thrown at them is hard to do especially in the sea where they have to open their eyes while swimming to see where the coins sink in such saltwater that they don't care about getting irritation to their eyes. But these people are known to be maritime or seaborne, and that's why they are amazingly skillful swimmers we know. In the Philippines, begging is prohibited because it is against P.D. 1563 Mendicancy Law, or simply put it, an anti-begging law of 1978. Even though people are annoyed by beggars, there are still few handfuls of those who have the hearts and guts even to defy the law and give generously. They never care at all. They must have known all the time that begging and beggars are always a part of society and no matter what the government does for the welfare of its people, there will always be the poor and the needy who can't get a job and who can't get a decent living and the only thing that will make them survive is the act of begging.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Friendship Blog
These are stories about relationships between humans, animals or between humans and animals.
Other Blogs
Archives
December 2023
|